Last night I woke up at exactly 3:15 a.m. and immediately became aware of a "presence" standing next to the bed. Clearing my eyes, I made out the shape of a tall stranger that was beckoning me to wake up and come with them. I sat up in bed and demanded to know who he was...He said he was the ghost of Black History Month Past.I told the stranger that I had no issue with Black History Month Past, it was Black History Month Present that I had problems with. Nonetheless, I was whisked away to a time when Black History Week was first started in 1926. I understood why ,at that time, there was a need for the Black community to share their cultural background and achievements in American society, it wasn't being taught in the schools and there was little hope for a black voice to heard in White America. I get it...now take me back to my bed.
I went back to sleep and was awakened at 4:15 a.m., fully aware of another "presence" in my room. This presence was different. It was wearing dark sunglasses, a baseball hat turned to the side, and it was sporting baggy pants only covering a portion of its ass. He announced himself as the ghost of Black History Month Present.
Before I could say a word, he rapped, "Yo, yo, yo...with me you gotta go!" Now standing on the stage of the Apollo, he asked me what my problem was with Black History Month. I told him that it was the word "Black". I could understand its beginnings but so much has changed. Why continue to segregate yourself? There is Black History Month, and a Black Miss America Pageant, and an Institute for Black Charities...enough is enough. While some still see through racially colored glasses, most people do not. It is not that I make Black History Month an issue, you do. Don't call me a racist when you make race the issue. He told me that I didn't understand and that Black History Month would go on.
Before we left, I told him that Dr. Martin Luther King was not a black hero. He gave me a puzzled look and I said, "He was an American Hero." With that he was gone and I was returned to my bed. I did not have a third visitor during the night because maybe, just maybe, there is no need for a Ghost of Black History Month Future. Maybe in the future, we'll all see it as American History without regard to skin color. And maybe, just maybe, we won't judge a man by the color of his skin...white or black.
Be Well.
